Peter Caydick

Peter Laughner was a singer songwriter from Cleveland like no other. Before his untimely death in 1977, he played in numerous bands, most notably Rocket From The Tombs and Pere Ubu, and also as a solo performer. He wrote for a variety of weekly newspapers and Creem, where he was a contemporary of Lester Bangs. He famously told Jane Scott of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he wanted to do for Cleveland what “…Brian Wilson did for California and Lou Reed did for New York.” In many ways, Peter did in fact put the Cleveland underground on the map.

Invited by Deutsche Grammophon to reinterpret Bach’s six cello suites for their Recomposed series, cellist/composer Peter Gregson has come up with beautiful tributes to these 18th-century masterpieces. Following each movement’s natural harmonic curve and rhythm, Gregson explores different approaches, using electronic effects that ripple beneath Bach’s lines (the first movement of Suite No. 5) or taking single bars, transforming them into minimalist gems. Elsewhere, he plays alongside a small cello ensemble, creating playful dances and sumptuous textures. Sometimes, as with the Menuet from Suite No. 1 or the Sarabande from No. 5, Gregson barely touches Bach’s original notes—an homage to the music’s timelessness.